Something In the Way She Moves
by boldlikeblack
Summary: Casey meets the new Greta.


**Disclaimer: I own none of this (aside from some Chuck Blu-Rays).**

**A/N: This should probably be considered a crossover, but no one ever looks there. I'm not sure where I was going with this one shot exactly, but I'm going to blame the medication I'm taking for my sinus infection. I wrote this in honour of Summer Glau's guest spot this week. Hopefully people enjoy reading it.**

**BBB**

The first time Casey sees her, Chuck is giving her the grand tour since, judging by her white shirt and grey tie, she's the newest member of the Nerd Herd. As if she feels his eyes on her, she turns her head and their eyes meet across the crowded sales floor. Casey feels something liquid and hot at the base of his skull. His chest aches, his mouth goes dry and he can't look away. The feeling recedes when she turns her head to nod at something Chuck is saying and Casey, though he would never admit it, beats a hasty retreat to the employee bathroom.

Casey splashes cool water on his face but it does nothing to put out the fire in his skull.

**BBB**

Of course, when Chuck introduces her as Greta, Casey knows exactly who she is. He'd been given her file when she'd been assigned to the Buy More, but that had conveniently slipped his mind that morning. They politely shake hands and Casey tries to ignore the electricity shooting up his fingertips at her touch.

**BBB**

When he gets home, he pulls the file out again to go over it one more time. Casey tells himself that it's just to be sure she poses no threat to his team, but it's really because he needs to know if there's a reason he feels such a pull to this tiny, dangerous, slip of a girl.

The file is sparse and is blacked out in a lot of places. There are things that make his head buzz, like the fact that the initials of her blacked out name are RT and that she was recruited from a pricey academy for the gifted at age 14. By the end of the file, Casey's head is pounding something fierce.

Bed ends up being the best option.

**BBB**

He starts growing a goatee two days later. It occurs to him, standing in front of the mirror with his razor in hand, that it's time for a change.

Walker gives him a hard time about it, but he pays her no mind. The Buy-Morons constantly ask him why and Morgan is offended because he sees it as Casey trying to usurp the title of best facial hair in the store, but Casey ignores them and goes about his business.

When he bumps into Greta in the lunch room, she studies him and smiles. "It suits you," she says, before slipping past him out on the floor.

**BBB**

When Greta points out a shoplifter one Saturday morning, Casey mouths 'Are you sure?'. She screws her face up, one eye squinting, and nods at him as if to ask 'Have you forgotten who I am?'

Casey's skin breaks out into involuntary goosebumps and a bead of sweat slides down the back of his neck as he wraps his arm around the kid and walks him to the manager's office. As they pass by the Nerd Herd desk, Greta whispers "I can kill you with my brain," without even looking up from her magazine.

Guaran-damn-teed the kid will never shoplift again.

**BBB**

The General is the one who suggests that, as part of inter-office relations, Greta and Casey begin a showmance as part of their cover. Casey protests on the grounds that Greta is much too young for him, but the General will have none of it. She even suggests that he make his romantic overtures to Greta in front of staff to make the showmance seem more legitimate, but Casey knows she means to punish him for trying to disagree.

"This girl is not one for hearts and flowers," Greta remarks casually as he passes her.

**BBB**

Their relationship progresses slowly in front of the other employees. It starts with Greta asking Casey to help her with some heavy lifting. It progresses to Casey stopping by the desk to chat with her once in a while. She's actually sort of funny in an odd kind of way and much of Casey's laughter is, to his surprise, not for show. She's smart too, smarter than Casey by a long shot. Sometimes, they even sit together for lunch in the break room.

Anna is the one to encourage Casey to Greta out. Apparently, the girl has been gushing to the former Nerd Herder about him. Casey takes this to mean that everyone in the store knows about Greta's 'crush' but him. He also takes it to mean that no one will have a problem with their fake relationship.

**BBB**

He's surprisingly nervous when the day actually comes. Casey knows she's not going to reject him, since they've gone over it a few times in the Castle, but his fingertips are throbbing and he's sweating and he can't for the life of him figure out what it is about this girl that has him tied in knots. It's just another part of the mission, it's not even real, but he feels like a teenager asking a girl out for the first time.

Greta skips up to him, smiling widely and he does his best to smile in return. "Hey," he says.

"Hello John," she replies, "I'm surprised to see you here on your day off."

Casey rubs at the back of his neck, feeling the eyes of the Nerd Herders and Buy-Morons on them. "Yeah, well," he says, "I wanted to see you."

He's unprepared for the way her cheeks flush as she looks down at the floor before looking up at him with her big doe eyes twinkling. Casey holds out the box in his hands and nearly shoves it at her. "I, uh, got this for you," he says quickly.

Greta's face breaks into an almost mad smile as she withdraws the Red Velvet cupcake from the box, perfectly uncrushed and topped with fluffy cream cheese icing and red sugar sprinkles. "Thank you," she says before taking a glob of frosting on her index finger and popping it into her mouth.

Casey clears his throat, which tightens as he watches her finger come out clean. "If it's not too forward of me," he begins, "I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me tonight."

Her long pause nearly kills him and Casey can feel their audience waiting with bated breath. "Of course," he says quickly, "if you already have plans I completely understand."

Greta shakes her head. "I don't have plans," she replies, smiling. "I'd love to have dinner with you."

"I'll pick you up around seven?" Casey asks.

Greta nods, her smile stretching so wide he's afraid it will crack her cheeks. He smiles at her, shyly like they practiced, and turns to go. Her hand on his arm stops him. "Wear the red shirt," she says quietly so only he can hear.

This wasn't in the dialogue they rehearsed, but Casey finds himself asking "Why?"

"You look better in red," Greta says seriously, running an absent finger across his chest.

Casey's heart stops for a moment before he improvises and brings her hand to his lips, kissing the back. "See you at eight," he says.

**BBB**

He takes Greta to the Golden Dragon because, regardless of how annoying Morgan is, Grimes is right about the sizzling shrimp. He wears his only red shirt, unbuttoned at the neck, without a tie and a pair of black slacks. It's not too fancy for the restaurant, but it's nice enough for a first date. Apparently he looks good to, judging by the way the waitress flirts with him.

Greta looks breathtaking. Her hair falls in soft waves over the shoulders of the little black sweater thing she wears over her blue dress. It's not exactly what Casey thought a top CIA operative would wear, even on a fake first date, but it suits her. Casey wishes he was able to say he could take his eyes off her, but she looks so good that he can barely focus on their discussion about their made-up lives.

Everything goes to hell while Greta is sharing an amusing anecdote about the time her brother Sean punched his friend Nate in an attempt to protect her honour.

Casey doesn't have time to assess who exactly is attacking them before they're both pulled into an all out brawl in the middle of the Golden Dragon. He deals with as many of the assailants as he can while being transfixed by Greta's deadly grace. She moves like a song of broken bones and missing teeth as Casey fights his way to her.

He's captivated as she flows from one opponent to the next. Soon, there's no one standing but the two of them. They circle around each other and Casey feels like they've done this all before. He wraps his arms around Greta, pinning them down to her sides, as she breathes heavily. Greta rests her head against his chest and Casey feels right.

He kisses the top of Greta's head and calls in a clean-up team.

**BBB**

Casey shouldn't be surprised when he comes home to find Greta waiting for him after the latest in the long line of Team Bartowski's missions, but he is. She hands him a glass of whiskey and he lets her peel his shirt off. The antiseptic burns as she cleans his wounds and bandages them carefully.

"My brother is a doctor," she says quietly in the dark. "He works in Connecticut at a Children's Hospital. He spends his day saving lives and still gets to go home to eat dinner with his family."

"Greta, don't," Casey begs.

She presses a kiss behind his ear and Casey lets his eyes slide shut. "His wife is a mechanic. They named their daughter after me," she whispers and he can hear the tears in her voice.

"I bet she's beautiful," Casey replies, though he should be telling her to stop. Their lives are too dangerous for the truth and what they have can't be something real. He lies to himself and tells himself that they're still only pretending because if it's real, it will hurt too much to lose her and Casey can't bear the thought.

"I love you," Greta says as her tears drip down his neck.

"I know, sweetheart; trust me I know," Casey replies, turning to pull her into his arms.

"If something happens to me," Greta says, begging him with her beautiful eyes as he presses his finger over her lips.

"Don't," Casey pleads, praying this isn't the moment their careful lie falls down around him.

She kisses his fingers. "If something happens to me, please find them. They need to know I was happy, even for a little while."

Even though he shouldn't, Casey nods. "No power in the 'verse could stop me darlin," he replies, leading her to what is fast becoming their room.

**BBB**

Six months later, there's a new Greta and Casey requests indefinite leave. The General is kind enough to agree, citing the fact that Casey hasn't taken a vacation in nearly a decade. Chuck and Sarah are as understanding as they can be and he tells them he'll be back soon, even if it might be a lie.

The slash across Casey's chest still healing when he pulls into the driveway of the modest home of one Dr. Sean Tanner. The woman who answers the door is sweetly beautiful and two little girls peer around her coveralls. Casey knows he shouldn't be here but he's a man of his word. Dr. Tanner comes home to find him drinking lemonade with the girls.

Casey tries to push back his lady-feelings as he explains that Greta was killed in a work related accident. He's surprised when Dr. Tanner reveals that he knows his sister was much more than a Burbank Buy More Nerd Herder.

"She made me promise to tell you she was happy," Casey says finally.

"Was she?" Dr. Tanner asks.

"Sometimes," Casey replies truthfully.

"Were you her partner?" the good doctor inquires.

Casey shakes his head. "I was part of her cover," he answers.

"But you loved her," Dr. Tanner states.

"Til the day I die," Casey says quietly, surprising himself.

"I'm glad," Greta's brother replies.

Casey has to swallow back tears as he takes the square velvet box from his pocket and places it on the doctor's desk. The doctor looks up at him, vivid blue eyes questioning. "I was gonna give it to her birthday, but I'd like you to keep it. She said you named one of your girls for her. When the time comes, I'd like for her to have it," he answers.

"Her name was Renee," the doctor offers as Casey takes his leave. "Though no one ever called her that. She always loved to dance. My father said she moved like a river and it stuck."

"River..." Casey says, pinching the bridge of his nose at the headache sets in. "It's pretty. It suits her."


End file.
